In the development of new varieties of fruit trees, a premium is usually placed upon those varieties which have fruit which ripens early or late in the growing season when there are few competing varieties available. These varieties, which typically have poor color, size, flavor or poor handling or shipping characteristics may not have reasonable or good acceptance by the consumer. Thus, any early or late maturing new variety free from these deficiencies will have widespread acceptance in the fresh market.
The present invention relates to a 7 year old new and distinct variety of plum tree, known varietally hereafter as xe2x80x98Rosy Jewelxe2x80x99. This new variety produces a semi-freestone fruit having a dark red skin color over 40% of the fruit. The fruit matures early in the growing season and is ready for commercial harvest in late May to early June.
The present variety of plum tree was discovered by the inventor as an open pollinated seedling in a plum planting located at the corner of Kings Canyon Road and Fowler Avenue in Fresno, Calif. in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The new variety was first asexually reproduced in the winter of 1997 at the plum planting at Fowler Avenue and Belmont Avenue in Fresno, Calif., by bud grafting onto Nemaguard rootstock. The asexually reproduced tree produced fruit in late May of 1998 of the new variety and confirmed that the parent and the progeny were identical in all respects. A second propagation was made (4 acres) at the N/S Harvey Avenue, xc2xd mile E/S Fowler Avenue on Nemaguard rootstock.
The xe2x80x98Rosy Jewelxe2x80x99 plum tree is characterized by producing a semi-freestone fruit which has a dark burgundy skin color over 90% of the fruit with heavy bloom, which is ripe for commercial harvest and shipment in the last week of May to the first week of June in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The flesh of this plum fruit is very pale, near water green (P1. 19 C2), except near the pit where it is even lighter in color (P1. 19 C1).